


Daisy Chains (or Reasons Why Peter Can't Leave Groot Alone For Long)

by RavenGrey



Category: Guardians of the Galaxy (2014), Guardians of the Galaxy - All Media Types
Genre: Fluff, Humor, Other, Team Bonding, Team Dynamics, Team Fluff, Team as Family, everybody gets flower crowns, flower crowns are involved
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-08-12
Updated: 2014-08-12
Packaged: 2018-02-12 19:54:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,933
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2122635
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RavenGrey/pseuds/RavenGrey
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It isn’t the weirdest thing that’s ever happened on his ship, hell it’s not even close to the weirdest thing, but it’s weird enough.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Daisy Chains (or Reasons Why Peter Can't Leave Groot Alone For Long)

**Author's Note:**

> Guess who saw Guardians of the Galaxy and loved every second of it? It was me. So I wrote nearly 3,000 words of dumb fluff instead of writing the things I'm supposed to be writing. Not even a little sorry.

 

              It isn’t the weirdest thing that’s ever happened on his ship, hell it’s not _even_ close to the weirdest thing, but it’s weird enough.

               Groot, about 4 feet tall and some odd inches, is sitting in the middle of the cargo bay turned rec room, absolutely covered in daisies.

               Groot’s back is to Peter, but from what he can tell, Groot’s got a carpet of pretty blue African daisies all over his arms and back. He left the dude alone for _maybe_ an hour and Groot had decided to become a walking, not-so-much talking garden in that short period of time.

              A walking, not-so-much talking garden that’s currently doing a sitting-down shimmy to ‘Hooked On A Feeling.’

               The daisies aren’t that weird, Groot spends like, 60% of his time covered in flowers now that he’s out of the pot, it’s mostly the fact that Groot’s plucking them with surprisingly delicate fingers and weaving the pale blue blossoms together.

              “Groot buddy, whatcha doin’?” He asks casually, leaning a hip against the door and crossing his arms loosely. Groot hums pleasantly and plucks a flower from his shoulder by the very base of its stem and sedately weaves it in.

               A few more flowers and Groot finishes off the crown with a very pleased, albeit doofy smile.

              Groot raises the delicate chain of blossoms and plops it on his head. It fits perfectly, nestled among the twists of branches that make up the top of Groot’s head.

               The contrast of dark brown against the light blue of the daisies is actually really pretty, Quill thinks. He nods appreciatively and gives the bounty hunter an enthusiastic thumbs up. “You look great, I’m _almost_ jealous, but you pull that off way better than I ever could.”

              Peter’s seen Groot kill like, 10 people at once, but the happy plant-creature has his lips trying to quirk up and his manly visage is slipping in the face of some seriously unfair cuteness.

               Groot turns to Peter, smiling a happy, satisfied smile and offers him a single, perfectly formed daisy.

              “It’s pretty, thanks man.” He says, meaning it, and pushes lazily off from the wall to take the flower. He twirls it, watching the petals dance, and under Groot’s somber watch, tucks it behind his ear.

               Groot beams, Peter’s still not sure how he manages to do that, he’s freakin’ made of wood, and pats the spot next to him in invitation. Peter considers the offer, he could go find hot space babes to dazzle with his wit and charm or could make flower crowns with the sentient tree man who just so happens to be one of his only friends.

              Yep, definitely going with the flower crowns.

              He drops down across from Groot, criss-cross-apple-sauce, and after checking to make sure his flower is where it’s supposed to be,  leans back on his elbows with casual grace. “While I have a wide variety of skills, flower-weaving isn’t one of ‘em, mind teaching me?”

              Groot hums agreeably and picks a few flowers from his back, laying them out neatly in front of Peter, careful not to bruise the petals.

              Peter sits up, elbows on his knees, and watches Groot selects two flowers and weave them slowly together, making sure Peter can see what he’s doing.

              Peter’s eyebrows furrow and he watches intently as Groot adds a third. “Right so, like braiding hair kind of? Except you don’t have hair and that was a dumb question.”

              “ _Groot_.” Groot says encouragingly, setting a few flowers gently into Peter’s hand. He cradles them in his palm; weirdly afraid of crushing them even though Groot has at least a hundred more sticking out every which way. “Alrighty then, let’s do this mother.”

               Tongue poking out between his teeth in concentration, he weaves them together with the diligence he usually reserves for cracking alien safes and stealing shit. He manages a slightly sloppier version of what Groot did and eyes it critically while Groot claps his hands together in congratulation.

              The stems are a little bent, but Groot seems really proud of him and that’s kind of nice even though he didn’t really do anything. He watches Groot sanguinely add another daisy with a keen eye and replicates what he did when Groot hands him another flower.   

              Groot smiles at his pupil and slowly but surely builds another flower crown while Peter works his way through his with a few grumbled curses. Peter finishes before Groot does and eyes his crown dubiously.

              It’s messier than Groot’s, petals crinkled in a few in places, but it’s actually not half-bad.

              The flowers aren’t that tightly knit and he’s seriously doubting whether or not it’s gonna stay together if he tries to move it at all. But Groot makes another encouraging sound, kind of a mix between a sigh and hum, and Peter lifts his creation up and sets it lightly on his head.

              He pulls his hands away like he just defused a bomb and waits with the flowery monstrosity perched jauntily on his head. A triumphant smile pulls at the corners of his mouth and he looks up only to realize that Groot’s watching him with what can only be described as mischief in his eyes.

              It’s also when the flower crown slips down his forehead, hits his nose, and busts apart on his chin.

              “F-” he cuts off the curse before he finishes it, Rocket threatened to cut his balls off he swore in front of the baby plant “iddle-sticks. Fiddle-sticks.” He finishes lamely while Groot shakes with silent laughter, head thrown back while daisies cascade down Peter’s shoulders.

              Peter most definitely doesn’t pout at Groot, he’s a grown man thank you very much, but it’s a close thing. Groot reaches out and fixes the flower behind Peter’s ear and he huffs out a wry “thanks”.  

               He gives the crown on Groot’s head a dubious look. “How is that thing even structurally sound?” He asks with a huff of laughter. Groot just blinks peacefully at him, smiling benignly while he finishes up the Peter-sized crown he’d been working on.

              Somehow, he feels personally wronged by the innocuous little flowers that cover his lap and dust his shoulders. Groot reaches out, his fingers splayed under the wreath of flowers to support it.

              “I’m a skilled thief and a Guardian of the Galaxy.” Peter mutters to himself as Groot lovingly settles the flower crown on his head. It fits perfectly and he reaches up to touch it very lightly.

               The subtle blue of the daisies compliments the dusky red of his gear and he feels very pretty.

              The snort of laughter from the doorway draws his attention and he flips the genetically engineered raccoon doubled over laughing the bird.

              “I make this look good.” He says, smirking at Rocket as he picks flowers off of himself and hands them to Groot. Groot murmurs a cheery hello, Peter assumes, to his friend in the form of “am groot” and takes the flowers offered to him.

               The poor, battered little flowers are integrated into Groot’s excellent flower-crown and Peter feels less bad about fucking them up in the first place.

              “Sure do princess.” Rocket agrees with a toothy grin, leaning back against Groot’s leg because his usual perch is covered in daisies. Peter turns his nose up at him and carefully starts weaving daisies again.

              He’s getting the hang of it and he throws himself into another daisy-crown with zeal while Rocket grins mockingly at him and twiddles a daisy.

              “Really, Starlady, blue really compliments yer eyes.” Rocket snorts, scratching his stomach and putting the daisy back in its designated pile. “That’s _Ms_. Starlady to you, buttercup.” Peter says with a sniff. Groot flicks Rocket in the back of he head and Rocket shuts up with an amused shake of his head.

              Using Groot as a pillow, seriously that can’t be any kind of comfortable; Rocket closes his eyes and dozes for a bit. Peter works really hard on making a Rocket-sized flower-crown and when he’s done he grins triumphantly and hands it to Groot. Groot tightens up the weaving just a little and placidly sets the tight ring of flowers between Rockets ears.

              “You freakin’ kiddin’ me?” Rocket doesn’t even open his eyes, black lips twitching up in a slight snarl.

              “Nope.” Peter chirps back, vaguely confident that Groot will keep Rocket from mauling him.

              Rocket opens his eyes and then narrows them dangerously. Peter just shrugs cheerfully, definitely not grinning, he likes his balls where they are, thank you very much, and works on his daisy bracelet.

               Rocket makes a disgusted sound and settles back against Groot’s thigh, flowers tickling his fur as he shifts. Groot scratches the fur between his ears and because he’s Groot, gets to keep all of his fingers.

               Rocket relaxes though and only grumbles a little about what plant-lovin’ pansies they are.

              Peter tactfully doesn’t point out that he is also a plant lovin’ pansy. It’s probably the first time he’s ever shown any kind of tact in his 26 years of living and he feels like he should be given a medal of some sort.

              Groot reaches over and fixes a minor fuck-up, but other than that Groot lets Peter do his own thing. Peter’s grateful for that, he’s really getting the hang of it and when his bracelets almost done he holds his wrist out so Groot can finish it.

              Groot deftly ties in the last few flowers and Peter’s left with a stylin’ wrist-band. Rocket sneers at him and Peter cocks an eyebrow.

              “Don’t be jealous Rocket; you too can have a bitchin’ flower bracelet with a little patience and practice.” Peter uses his best info-mercial voice and moves so he’s lying on his belly. His back thanks him for that and only pops a few times. Rocket’s nose wrinkles, but doesn’t say anything.

               Peter’s too young to have back troubles, but hey, you don’t live as long as he has in his line of profession without getting a few kinks here and there.

              “Oi, bean-sprout, flower bracelet.” Rocket demands, looking up at Groot and getting a warm smile back. Groot sets aside the crown he’d been working on and starts on Rocket’s bracelet at the same sedate pace he does almost everything else. 

              Rocket gives Quill a smirk.

              “Cheater.” Peter sing-songs, weaving daises leisurely. He’s gotten a lot better and his daises are tightly knit.

              “That’s rich, coming from you.” Rocket says wryly. Peter throws a daisy at him and Rocket peeps open an eye to glare at him. Peter’s unrepentant and tosses another one. Rocket retaliates and manages to poke him right in the eye.

              “Mother-” he cuts himself off again, rubbing at his watering eye “fricker.” Rocket grins at him and Groot flicks him again. He rubs at the stinging spot while Groot circles his wrist with the short daisy chain.

              He gives Quill a superior look and crosses his arms over his chest, smugly displaying the flower bracelet he didn’t have to make. Peter sticks his tongue out and folds his arms in front of, chin resting on his wrist.

              Groot picks up the half-finished crown and starts back on it as his friends rest.

               Peter’s back is tight and a little sore, so he stretches out on the floor, joints popping as he sprawls out as much as he can. The occasional humming, rumbly sounds Groot makes are oddly relaxing and he dozes lightly, careful not to crush his daisy bracelet.

              He hears the heavy, sure footsteps before Drax passes the rec room and calls out to him, voice a little strained from the way his chest is squashed against the floor and rough from his catnap.

              “Hey buddy, get in on this, we’re bonding.”

              Drax comes back, confusion writ on his face, and takes in the scene before him with lowered eyebrows.

               “And why are you doing this?” Drax asks, entering the room and coming to a stop by Quill. Peter looks up at him, it kind of hurts his neck and he totes did not need to see Drax’s junk from this angle, but there it is, and shrugs.

              “Dunno, guess it’s good for team moral or somethin’?” He throws out and Rocket says “or somethin’” in a derisive tone that Peter does not find to be very team-friendly.

              “This will help us function better as a team?” Drax’s arms are crossed and he’s looking down at Peter skeptically.

              “Yeah, I guess?” Peter asks back, not awake enough for Drax’s literalness. It’s a surprise when he settles down next to Peter, one leg crossed over his knee, and twines two flowers together so the blossoms are side by side. He put it behind his own ear and Peter grins at him like a goof.

              Drax raises an eyebrow at him and Peter’s grin grows and he spins his finger in the air “Woo. Team bonding.” Drax’s lips twitch, just a little. Groot finishes his crown with a satisfied mutter of “groot” and carefully deposits it in Drax’s huge hands.

              Hands capable of crushing skulls and he handles the circlet of daisies with infinite care and settles it on his head with a nod of thanks.

               It rests just above his ears and contrasts nicely with the intricate markings on his skin. Groot nods, pleased, and Peter notices that daises are knit more closely, up for rougher handling.

              “What’s the point? What purpose do they serve aside from being a means of bonding?” Drax asks, looking up and catching a haze of blue out of his peripheral. He’s not sure he likes having such a delicate thing on his person, but his friend had made it specifically for him and he will wear it with pride.

              “I don’t know man, they’re pretty I guess?” Peter says, eyes slitting open. He glances side-long at Drax and wishes Gamora were here to see their band of merry mercenaries turned kind-of good guys covered in flowers, but she’s off-ship, doing Gamora things.

              Drax lets out a thoughtful “Hrm.” and watches the slow, sure movements of Groot’s long, slender fingers as he starts up his final crown.

              Peter sits up on his elbows and starts another bracelet, this one for Drax. It’s still not as good as Groot’s, but it’s pretty damn close. He weaves in silence, and it’s not the weird kind either, and just takes comfort in knowing that he actually has friends who don’t mind doing dumb shit with him.

               It’s kind of freaky but also really nice.

              When he finishes, he holds it out to Drax with a “ _Ta-daaa_ ” holding both ends carefully. Drax gives him a look and Peter squiggles closer on his belly and ties it around Drax’s thick wrist. He feels a burst of pride when that draws a huff of amusement from big fella.

              Drax brushes his thumb over one of the crisp blue petals, feels the softness of it and rests his forearm on his knee, wrist dangling. Peter beams, Groot beams and Rocket makes a disgusted sound low in his throat even though he’s also covered in flowers.

              When Gamora comes back from doing Gamora things, she finds all three of them in various states of rest and moves into the room, silent and deadly, to sit on Peter’s other side. Peter doesn’t notice she’s there, mostly because he’d conked out after making Drax a second bracelet, and she just about scares the piss out of him.

              “Jesus mother-fricken Christ Gamora, make me pee myself why don’t you?!” He yelps, still pretty sleepy but waking up awfully quick. He pointedly ignores the way Rocket and Drax are smirking at him. Rocket snickers and Peter flips him off again with one hand while he rubs at the red circle on his cheek.

              “It’s not my fault you have a weak bladder.” She smirks at him, a sly twist of her lips, and accepts the flower crown Groot offers her as well as the flower choker he’d finished while Peter and Rocket had napped and Drax had tried his hand at weaving flowers.

              He’d been moderately successful, but the work bored him so instead he and Rocket had stuck as many flowers in Peter’s hair as they could manage while he napped. Groot had helped.

              Groot’s mouth twitches and he reaches over to wipe the drool off of Peter’s chin.

              “Thank you Groot, at least someone cares.” Peter says stiffly, wiping at his chin with his jacket-sleeve.

              “If we didn’t care do you really think you’d still be alive?” Gamora asks archly, settling the crown on her head with a regal air and deftly tying on the choker. Peter’s impressed despite himself.

               Rocket climbs up on Groot’s shoulder, now devoid of flowers and Drax politely hands Gamora one of the last daisies to put behind her ear.

              She braids it into her hair, hands moving quickly, and Groot hums happily _and_ sways a little.

              “Fair point.” Peter laughs warmly, resting his cheek on his hand and looking blearily at his team, looking fabulous completely and utterly bedecked in flowers. The movement jostles one of the many daisies in his hair free and he watches it fall with a bland expression on his face.

              Drax tries to look casual and fails spectacularly and Rocket would have succeeded in looking casual if he weren’t laughing so hard. Gamora covers her mouth with a hand and Groot picks the daisy up and helpfully puts it back into Peter’s hair.

               “Now, which one of you rude mother-frickers decided to stick daisies in my hair?”

 


End file.
